Autonomous transportation research: Predicting impact on industries, companies, and personal lives

Autonomous transportation isn't just for Silicon Valley startups anymore. As it gains more traction, industries, companies, and individuals are wrestling with the question of whether to embrace the technology or not. In November 2017, Tech Pro Research surveyed 289 professionals about how autonomous transportation fits into their lives.

The survey contained the following questions:

• How much do you think autonomous transportation will affect your company over the next 10 years? The next 25 years?
• What effects do you think autonomous transportation will have on your company?
• Is your company doing anything with autonomous transportation at this point? If so, what?
• Do you have concerns about any societal impacts of autonomous transportation?
• Do you think any steps should be taken to mitigate potential negative effects of autonomous transportation?
• What, if any, role do you think autonomous transportation will play in your daily life over the next 10 years?

The majority (64%) of respondents said their company isn't currently doing anything involving autonomous transportation. Most other respondents said their companies were still in the planning and prototyping phases.

The societal impact of autonomous transportation seemed to be a big issue for most respondents. Only 12% said they had no concerns about things like safety, job loss, or regulatory issues.

When asked an optional, open-response question about the effect of autonomous transportation on their own lives within the next decade, some respondents gave strongly worded answers, but a sentiment analysis revealed that many respondents didn't anticipate much of an effect on their personal lives at all.

To read more survey results and analysis, download the full report. And to find out more about how tech is impacting the transportation industry, check out this ZDNet/TechRepublic special feature.